Jose Mourinho has already given Bernardo Silva a taste of his trademark management style at Real Madrid – telling his new signing that he needs to get fitter. And doing that publicly.Silva made his first appearance in the Los Blancos shirt on Saturday night as Real Madrid beat Ferencvaros 2-1 in their third pre-season game, coming on at half-time for Brahim Diaz.🚨 José Mourinho: "Bernardo Silva? He's a very important player for us.But the poor guy, when he goes on vacation, he likes to disconnect completely, he doesn't do any work, so he came on a physical level WAY BELOW his usual standards, he needs to work hard now." pic.twitter.com/OD1VGN7zOi— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) August 8, 2026 But Mourinho's assessment afterwards was unmistakably Mou: brutally honest, slightly cheeky and somehow still flattering."He is very important, but the poor guy is one of those players who benefits mentally from not doing anything during vacation," Mourinho said, according to L'Équipe."He arrived for pre-season at a fairly low physical level. He has to improve. But he is an incredible player."Bernardo Silva Real Madrid Debut🪄 pic.twitter.com/GTS83E4cSd— 💣 (@billy_rma) August 8, 2026 Silva's fitness even prompted Mourinho to make a tactical adjustment during the game.The 63-year-old noticed that the former Manchester City midfielder was lacking physical strength and moved him further forward into the No. 10 role, a position where Silva has regularly excelled throughout his career."During the game, I realised he was lacking a little physical strength, so I moved him forward to the No. 10 position," Mourinho explained."He can play there too. He can play in three or four positions."##NAJAVA_MECA_9883832##It was Silva's first outing for Madrid since completing his move from Manchester City, having represented Portugal at the 2026 World Cup before their last-16 elimination by Spain.Real Madrid will continue their preparations against Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday, August 12.
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